In this episode:
- Dan's start in PDR in 1996 — crayons, fluorescent tube lights, and homemade tools
- 13 years working for someone else before going out on his own in 2009
- The growing pains of hiring, training, and a worker's comp audit that stung
- How PDR College and Advanced Skills changed the way Dan ran his business
- The COVID hailstorm story — laid off on a Wednesday, biggest year ever by Saturday
- Building the business: dealership Quonset hut, three-car garage, purpose-built shop, uptown building with an in-bay automatic car wash and detail bay
- Bringing on Stu and Chase and building a family team of techs
- Dan's best advice for anyone in their PDR journey
- Tool of the Week, picked by Dan Noeltner
- An update on PDR Expo, September 25th–26th at the Rio in Las Vegas
Links mentioned:
Dent Specialist Inc (Dan's shop): https://dentspecialistinc.com
Tool of the Week — PDR Finesse Tools: https://pdrfinessetools.com/
PDR Expo: https://www.pdrexpo.com
Follow Dent Repair Now: @dentrepairnow (all platforms)
Hashtags:
#PDR #PaintlessDentRepair #DentRepairNow #PDRExpo #DentRepair #PDRLife #HailRepair #AutoBody #SmallBusiness #PDRTools #DentSpecialist #TheGreatYapChallenge
2. Timestamped Show Notes
00:00 Cold open — on location at Dan Noeltner's house in Highland, Illinois, just outside St. Louis
00:30 Catching up: golf, birthday parties, and great-nephews — Gene and Dan have been friends for 10 years since meeting at an Advanced Skills seminar in 2016
02:00 How Gene and Dan met — the early days of Mobile Tech RX and Bryce Kelly at MTE
03:00 Dan's PDR origin story — started in 1996, his 30th year in the business
04:00 What training looked like in '96 — crayon marks, fluorescent tube lights, no Loose yet
05:00 Bare-bones tools, the old Anson catalog, and meeting Steve from Ultra
06:00 Lacy Tools out of Springfield, Missouri, and the early days before whale tails
08:00 Wholesale hail work, drilling holes, and cutting his teeth on rental cars
09:00 Retail didn't exist yet — 13 years working for someone else, 1996 to 2009
10:00 What it was like to walk away and go out on his own
12:00 Going solo in 2009 and eventually bringing on his nephew part-time
13:00 The worker's comp audit surprise that comes with hiring your first employee
14:00 Self-training a tech — the difference between being a good technician and a good teacher
15:00 The turning point — PDR College, Dan Rokicki, and signing up for Advanced Skills
18:00 Giving credit to Keith Cosentino and Shane for shaping modern PDR
19:00 How Advanced Skills changed the way Dan looked at his business, not just the job
22:00 Working out of a dealership's Quonset hut, then a three-car garage at the house
23:00 Breaking ground on his own shop in 2018
25:00 The COVID story — laying guys off, a 5am phone call, and a hailstorm that changed everything
27:00 Buying the uptown building — adding an in-bay automatic car wash to the business
28:00 The detailing experiment — paint correction and ceramic coating instead
30:00 Adding Stu (future son-in-law) and Chase (Dan's son, now serving in the Air Force) as techs
32:00 On the friendships built in the PDR industry — and how fast you connect with other techs
33:00 Dan's advice for anyone on their PDR journey: always be willing to learn
36:00 Tool of the Week — Dan picks his go-to Finesse tool
39:00 PDR Expo update — September 25th–26th at the Rio in Las Vegas, plus Gene's round table and cold glue class
40:00 Wrap up — where to find Dan and Dent Specialist Inc online
Links:
Dent Specialist Inc: https://dentspecialistinc.com
Tool of the Week — PDR Finesse Tools: https://pdrfinessetools.com/
PDR Expo: https://www.pdrexpo.com
Follow Dent Repair Now: @dentrepairnow (all platforms)
